As I knocked on my best friend Elena's door and waited, I could smell the cupcakes and other desserts she had been baking. You see, every summer since I could remember Elena and I have had a girl's night with just the two of us. We would eat junk food, rock out to our favorite songs, and talk all night.

"Joy!" Elena shouted, hugging me when she opened the door.

She pulled me in the house and led me to the kitchen where I was surprised to find her boyfriend, Stefan. Don't get me wrong, Stefan is nice and I have come to love him like family just as I do with Elena, but this was 'sisters' time.

"Hello Joy." He said smiling at me "Don't mind me I was just leaving."

It was like the guy could read minds.

"Oh well, bye Stefan." I said, giving him a quick hug.

Elena told me to go ahead and put my stuff in her room while she went to say goodbye to Stefan.

Looking around Elena's room was like opening up a box full of old memories. Some good, some were not so. After setting my bag of clothes down on the bed I turned around and headed back down the stairs. I could hear arguing coming from the door and when I got to the steps I saw a man I assumed was Stefan's brother looking quite angry with Stefan. You could tell they were brothers just by seeing them and their obvious Italian heritage, but it was more than that too. It was something about their eyes that showed they were both very similar even though neither of them probably wanted to admit it.

Once I got to the bottom of the stairs, Stefan's brother instantly turned to me and gave a charming smile as he stepped past Stefan to introduce himself. I could see women falling over that smile and those deep brown eyes for sure.

"Hello, I'm Damon. And you are…?"

Elena and Stefan both looked at me with wary eyes so I just answered, "Joy."

With that he kissed my hand, said "Well, Joy, I will see you soon."

"Don't get any ideas hot shot." I said. Although it didn't sound nearly as strong as my usual sarcasm did. He just smirked and walked out the door, with Stefan following close behind him.

"Oh no." Elena said pulling me towards the kitchen. "Do not even think about him Joy. He's bad news." she said gathering up our s'mores supply and going into the back yard.

"I'm not! Hell, I just met him. How would I even know if I like him yet?" I exclaimed.

"I'm just warning you. If he decides to start messing with you to mess with Stefan it won't end well."

"Is that the kind of thing he'd do?" I asked her. He seemed nice to me, but Elena insisted it wasn't a good idea to get involved with him.

I didn't know that it would turn out to be such a challenge, but when I showed up to school and saw Damon five times that day alone it became quite difficult to keep him out of my mind. I found myself smiling when I saw his face. I enjoyed the little fright I felt when he snuck up behind me. It was like having a disease you didn't mind being sick from. You knew it was there and that it could kill you, but the symptoms were pleasant enough that you didn't mind.

Despite warnings from Elena and Stefan, it was becoming increasingly hard to stay away from Damon. One day after school he was leaning against the wall outside looking casual, but as mesmerizing as ever. I stopped beside him. He was staring at all the people rushing out of the school like he could wait in that spot forever for me.

"Are you even aloud to be here? What are you like 30? It's a little creepy." I told him while trying to keep my heartbeat under control.

The smirk he gave me in reply almost brought me to my knees.

"Let's take a walk." he said.

As I followed him away from the school, I noticed Elena and Stefan watching us. Stefan, in particular, did not look very happy.

I kept asking Damon where we were going, but he just stared ahead with a determined look on his face. Soon I saw a little park with beautiful trees around it and some benches next to a small stream. I thought Damon would stop at one of the iron benches, but he continued until we reached a small path. You wouldn't notice it unless you were looking for it, so I suspected wherever it led us to we would be alone. The thought made my heart skip. Whether it was in a good or bad way, I wasn't sure. I never could around him.

He stopped a few yards further up the path where it ran beside the stream. He turned to me, looking me straight in the eyes and stayed like that for minutes that felt like hours.

Finally, I had to say something. "What are… what are we doing here Damon?"

The question came out quiet, but I knew he had heard me.

He suddenly looked confused, like he was trying to figure something out.

"I don't know."

He looked back at me and said, "Do you know what I am?"

I rolled my eyes.

"I've been one of Elena's best friends since we were small kids. Do you really think she didn't tell me when her boyfriend turned out to be a bloodsucker? I only assumed you were too. Though I didn't think that's why she told me you were dangerous."

His dark eyes tainted with disappointment.

"She told you I was dangerous? Of course she did. Do you believe her?" he asked me.

"Well… no, not because you're a vampire."

"No? Why then?" he said looking at me strangely.

"Tell me why we're here first."

"I asked you first." His usual smirk returning to his face.

But I wasn't going to give in. Not on this one. No way was I going to tell him that I thought he was dangerous because I could end up really caring for him and I knew he would just break my heart in the end. So I just stared, hoping I could hold out longer than him.

"Fine." he said with a sigh, "Well, since you already know I'm a vampire and you haven't ran away screaming, I'd say the first part of the plan was a success. Now I just have to get you to agree to go on a date with me."

My eyes widened in surprise. Damon charged right through my hesitation.

"Joy, I know you've been warned against me and you probably don't trust me and you'd be right not to, but I'm not doing this to get to Elena or Stefan. I'm doing this to get to you because you get to me. I've never met a mortal girl who has had this effect on me. I'm afraid I'm not ready to let that go before I've even had a taste."

We were standing very close by the time he had finished his speech. His hand had come up to tangle it's self in the curls of my dark, dirty blonde hair. It felt amazing.

"You're such a mystery to me, Joy." he whispered, his lips almost touching mine.

His hand tightened in my hair as he kissed me, and I knew from that moment on I was lost to Damon forever. Everything my brain was saying about getting hurt or him leaving me was silenced.

"Should I take that as a yes then?" he asked me.

"Did it feel like a no?" I asked smiling.

He laughed and I knew that everything would be fine. That there were still parts of him that just maybe no one else had seen yet, and I would be the one to discover them. I was always up for that adventure.